Big Year 2017

Wednesday, 30 September 2015

And it continues!! This September 2015 has been amazing so
far. After setting a goal of trying to
attain seven new "year birds", I reached that goal half-way through the month.
I then set a goal of ten species and in the last full week of September I reached
and surpassed that goal.

Here are the birds I saw:

The
Yellow-billed Cuckoo(Coccyzus americanus) was expected to be
arriving at Harrison’s Point around this time, so it was not surprising to see
and hear one when we visited that location on the 26th, the first
sighting for the year. These birds are
11-12 inches with greyish brown upperparts and white underparts.The base of its bill is yellow and it has a
yellow eye-ring. This is no doubt the first of many of these we will see in the
coming months ahead.

Ruddy Duck

A Ruddy Duck (Oxyura jamaicensis) was a
bird I had missed earlier in the year and was surprised when I saw one at
Greenland, St. Andrew, also on the 26th. This small diving duck was sitting quietly in
the pond.

Striated Heron

A Striated Heron(Butorides striata) seen at the Mangrove Landfill on September 27th
represented the 2nd record for the island. This bird is a close
relative to our Green Heron “Butorides virescens”, locally known as a Gaulin,
but while that plumage is mostly brown in colour the plumage of the Striated
Heron is grey.

The month of September is proving more productive than I
could have ever imagined.With this being the last day of the month, can I add any more birds to my count?
Anything is possible in this September to Remember…

Tuesday, 22 September 2015

Two new "year birds”on the afternoon of September 16th
tied my September 2014 tally of seven bird species, while two more on Sunday September 20thset a new personal record as the September to
remember continues.

The birds I saw were:

Buff-breasted Sandpiper

A
Buff-breasted Sandpiper (Calidris subruficollis) which was first
seen by Dr. Webster in St. Lucy earlier that day. I was happy to see that it hung around as it
became my 85th bird for the year. Buff-breasted Sandpipers are 7-8 inches in
length, Buff (yellowish-brown) allover hence the name, with a pointed, black
bill, rounded head with long yellow legs. These shorebirds prefer short grassy fields.

Pectoral Sandpiper

A Pectoral Sandpiper (Calidris
melanotos) was seen on a flooded road at Vaucluse in the parish of St. Thomas
on my way home after seeing the Buff-breasted Sandpiper. The
bird was very busy feeding on earthworms along with a pair of Lesser Yellowlegs (Tringa flavipes). Pectorals are 8-9.5
inches with Yellowish green bills and legs, mottled dark brown to black
upperparts while their bellies are white and their breasts are heavily streaked.

Western Sandpiper

A single Western Sandpiper (Calidris mauri) was seen on Sunday morning at the same location, Vaucluse, where I had
seen the Pectoral Sandpiper just a few days earlier. These birds can easily be
mistaken for Semipalmated and vice
versa. Something that I know oh so well,
as it happened to me just last month when I mistook a juvenile Semipalmated
with a relatively long bill, for a Western.

Common Tern

Common Tern (Sterna
hirundo) this
medium size Tern was also seen on Sunday morning at Six Men’s Bay in the parish
of St. Peter. This became my 88th year bird.

With a few days remaining
I am aiming for a final tally of ten new Year species for the month. Can I do
it?Time will tell but so far it
continues to be a September to Remember.

Tuesday, 15 September 2015

After a slow month of August, where I registered only two
new birds for the year, September is trying to make up for it. Already I have registered five new birds for
the year with one being a lifer. The
five birds are:

American
Golden-Plover ( Pluvialis dominica)which
was observedlate on the afternoon
of September 2nd in St. Lucy.

The Glossy
Ibis(Plegadis falcinellus) I saw
this while I was on the Highway on the morning of September 8th.The bird was not hard to identify as it flew
towards me and directly over my car. I noted the dark color, decurved bill and
the extended neck position synonymous with an Ibis in flight. The bird was next seen and photographed by R.
Roach on September 13th in the parish of St. Lucy. Glossy Ibis are considered vagrants to
Barbados.

Grey
Heron(Ardea cinerea) was my
second “first for the year” bird I saw on September 8th. I saw the bird when I checked an irrigation
pond on my way home from work. At first
I thought it was a Great Blue, but was not sure so I shared the images with
fellow birders and it was Edward Massiah who pointed out that it was a Grey
Heron.He pointed out the white thighs,
white headlights (white marks just in front of the eyes), black and white feathering
down the plain grey neck.

Red Knot(Calidris canutus) thiswas seen in the parish of St. Philip by
Dr. J. Webster on September 9th.He alerted the local birders of its presence and I was able to see it
that afternoon.

Photo by R. Roach

Fork-tailed
Flycatcher(Tyrannus savanna) a lifer
for me, was seen on the morning of September 13th at Harrison’s
Point in St. Lucy. I had a clue that R.
Roach and I would have seen something special on that day from the time I took
out my camera to take my first shot for the day. Caribbean Martins were sitting on the power
line, but when I went to take my first shot, I realized that I had left my
compact flash card at home. No problem I
thought, as I have a backup card, Not!! That
card was also not in the bag but sitting on my desk at home. Within minutes of packing my equipment back
into the car, the Fork-tailed Flycatcher flew overhead. Luckily Richard was able to get a few shots
before it disappeared for good.

With
many days still left in this month I will be trying to better my 2014 September
tally of seven birds. The Flycatcher was my best for the month so far but the
month is still young so you never know what may turn up in this September to
remember.

Friday, 11 September 2015

I did my part for World Shorebirds Day by joining in the global shorebirds
count on September 6th. I
registered four locations. They were
Oistins, Inch Marlow and Long Beach on the South Coast and the Woodbourne
Shorebird Refuge (WSR) which was being affected adversely by the low rainfall
which the island is experiencing this year.

Birding the South Coast

Ruddy @ Oistin

I started my count in the popular Oistinsarea,
the home of the world famous Friday Night Fish Fry. This fishing complex not only attracts
hundreds of tourist and locals alike, but also migrating shore and sea birds
yearly. I observed thirteen species of
birds, three of which were shorebirds - Spotted
Sandpipers (Actitis macularius), Semipalmated Plovers (Charadrius semipalmatus) and Ruddy Turnstones(Arenaria interpres). (My Ebird's Checklist) My next stop along the South Coast was the surfing hotspot of Inch
Marlow. This location has registered its
fair share of shorebirds including rarities. On this occasion however, I was not that
fortunate. I recorded six species at
Inch Marlow of which three were shorebirds.(My
Ebird's Checklist)

Whimbrel @ Silver Sands

My most productive stop of the morning was at Long Beach.Here, various species of shorebirds were busy
feeding on a buffet served up by the Sargassum Seamoss which is affecting beaches on the South and
East Coast of the island. I recorded
twelve species of birds of which nine were shorebirds.(My
Ebird's Checklist) I got a bonus as I was traveling from Oistins to Inch Marlow. I saw a Whimbrel(Numenius phaeopus) at De Action
Man's Beach, Silver Rock. This bird was
wading in a small pond.

Woodbourne Shorebird Refuge

Solitary Sandpiper @ WSR

For my final stop I traveled west away from the South Coast
to the only shorebird sanctuary on the island, the Woodbourne
Shorebird Refuge (WSR). This year WSR, like the rest of the island is
being affected by the low rainfall that was impacting the entire region. It was not difficult to see the effects as you
drove onto the property. Only two of the
trays still contained water and both of their levels were very low. A few shorebirds were around, mostly Semipalmated Sandpipers (Calidris pusilla). I observed thirteen species there.

Synopsis

I was happy to be a part of the second World Shorebirds Day. I was expecting to see more shorebirds than I
did but with the island’s low rainfall it was understandable. Thirteen species of shorebirds was registered
in total with Ruddy Turnstones
the most numerous. The World Shorebirds Day is here to stay and I am looking forward to
next years count.